76. Chapter 69
Chapter 69
The little ones in the void are souls. The difference is that their bodies and most of their power have been stripped, usually because they died. When a magical child is conceived, the spark of life reaches out and, through a process we do not yet understand, it chooses a soul from the void. It gives that soul another chance at life. Without a connection to the void, no life can be created. This was the way it was when the Throne of Shadows lay unclaimed.
~Rhaskar Thorne, The First Book of the Priests
Maeve
You’ve been told of Vyran’s agreement? The Darkness’s voice booms in my mind, but the anger is gone. It knows that I’m young. It knows that if I am bound by Vyran’s agreement, then I have to answer any question that’s asked, and I have to answer truthfully. It knows just how likely it is to outmaneuver me in this relationship.
And it knows about a world nearby that’s hidden from it. It knows it could very possibly devour that world.
“I have, and I agree to it.” The words are a magical bond. My words wrap around my soul, becoming a mark that will never leave me. I cannot break the bond now that I’ve said the words. If I lie to The Darkness, I will die. If I refuse to answer its questions, I will die.
But it’s bound to it as well. You have sought me out. What questions do you have for me?
I smile as my Earth senses feel The Darkness and create a mental image of the creature. It’s massive. The creature’s body is long and thin, with empty eye sockets. It’s as close to an eel as anything I could imagine, with jagged teeth extending beyond its mouth. Shadows flow from its body instead of fins, lengthening and shortening as they move slowly, maintaining its position in the void a few feet in front of me.
“I’m not Brenna, Darkness. I know I’m not clever enough to get more information out of you than you give me. I’m following Vyran’s agreement because I would prefer you didn’t eat me.”
There’s a pause, and the image in my mind of The Darkness shifts uncomfortably. I’ve found that beings that are ancient don’t do well when you offer them something new. That is understandable. Why did you seek me out if not to ask me questions as your predecessors have done?
I take a deep breath and focus on my exact wording because, with this creature and our current arrangement, the words matter a great deal. “I would like to offer you a temporary, simpler agreement. I have two questions, which I’m sure you’ll dance around. You’ll give me partial answers that skirt the truth. We’ll both do our best to take as much information as possible without giving any extra, and we’ll be here for weeks bickering. Instead, let’s save us both some time and just give each other what we want.
“I ask that you give me the simplest, straight-forward answers to my questions and continue to clarify as much as I need for both of them. In return, I will not only tell you about a world that cannot keep you out, I will bring you there.”
Moments pass, and I don’t push as the Darkness considers my proposal. I know what it will eventually say, though. With our current agreement, it can’t force me to show it anything. No matter how many questions it asks, I don’t have to give it the key to entering Valinar.
That would make any number of questions worth the trade. Why would you make this offer? Two questions? This is not very much.
“Two separate questions you answer simply and with as much detail as I need.”
I agree.
Just like the songs of power and my wedding, I feel the magic pulling at me, wrapping tightly around me and connecting me to The Darkness. The magic binds The Darkness just as much as it does me, though.
“Where do souls go when they die?” I ask without hesitation.
The face of the eel shifts slightly. A child’s question. You do not know this answer already?
“Simply and with as much detail as I require,” I repeat, not giving an inch.
The Darkness seems to sigh with annoyance. Souls are all different, and all go to different places. What specific type of creature are you talking about? That matters more than anything else.
“A High Fae. Someone like me. My husband.”
I feel something strange. Shadows. The Darkness is touching me, and a shiver runs through my body. You are not a High Fae, Daughter of Stone. You have a human’s soul and a High Fae’s body. But pieces of your soul are not human. Pieces of you are… not yours. You were bound to another?
“I was bound to the one I am looking for.”
The world is built on promises, little one. The first promises on this world you call Nyth were not made to High Fae. They were made to humans. It was only after the dragons came that new promises were made to humans who were changed. But, little one, the promises to humans were first. Those promises are the strongest.
A smile creeps across my lips. I knew it. “High Fae go to the void, don’t they?”
Yes. Their magic returns to the world, but their souls fill this place.
“Thank you,” I say. “My next question. How does one kill a dragon?”
The previous question had annoyed The Darkness, but this one seems to interest it. Why would you like to know this?
“It doesn’t matter. You agreed to answer my questions, didn’t you?”
I can feel The Darkness’s annoyance fill the space between us. It doesn’t want me to be so disrespectful. I don’t care.
There is no way for you to attempt to kill a dragon with any real chance of success. The High Fae were modeled after them, so just like a High Fae’s weakness is its heart, a dragon will die if you pierce its heart.
I pause for a moment. “How would you kill a dragon?”
An even longer hesitation follows, and I can feel the annoyance change into reservation. The Darkness doesn’t want to tell me anything about itself, but the magic that binds it requires that it not speak in riddles like it normally would.
I would siphon its power. What you call the void is my realm. I am at home here, but dragons are not. In fact, there are very few dragons who can swim through the gateways here. They are like you or even weaker. There are exceptions like the one who created the original arrangement. When I made that arrangement, I knew nothing about dragons. I was younger, and they were new to me. It took many conversations with Vyran to understand them.
My smile widens as The Darkness’s body jerks. Immediately, it says, “I am being thorough, not complicated.” A snarl follows, but it continues. “Dragons die after their power is stripped from them. It is how the ones they refer to as the hunters could kill them. It just so happens that I also can siphon a dragon’s power.”
I nod. “So you wouldn’t have any problem killing a single dragon if it were here in the void?”
“I would not.”
Exactly as I’d hoped. “Thank you, Darkness. Your side of the agreement has been fulfilled. Now, let me take you to Valinar.”